The eurozone economy has enjoyed its best year in a decade, in the first clear evidence that it has broken out of the prolonged debt crisis that raised fears about the survival of the euro currency itself.

In its first estimate for the fourth quarter, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said the eurozone had expanded by 0.6% in the September-December period from the three months before.

That healthy level of growth means that for the whole of 2017, the eurozone economy expanded by 2.5%, its best performance since 2007, when it grew 3%.

15:59

US markets quickly tick higher

After opening in the red, both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 have risen and recovered their very early losses.

The Dow is up 0.15% on open and the S&P 500 is up 0.42%.

15:27

Bitcoin rises again

Bitcoin has powered through and broke past the $9,000 mark again.

After hovering in the mid-$8,000 point for the past week it is now at $9,256 - marking a 7.34% rise over the last 24 hours.

14:47

US markets open down

The Dow Jones has opened lower following a shock from a spike in inflation data this afternoon.

It has lost more than 100 points and is at 24,535 - however it remains up on its low point of 23,444 hit last Friday amid the global stock sell off.

The S&P 500 also opened lower - down 0.46%.

14:24

Lots of negative sentiment out there following US inflation data

Consumer prices rose much more than expected, while retail sales fell when they were expected to rise. Consumers are buying less, but paying more. It's stagflation all the way. This is the worst possible macro economic environment for U.S. financial assets.

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot said markets will be turbulent following the spike in inflation.

'After the recent bout of volatility, investors were hoping for a benign US inflation report today to allay some of the fears about rising interest rates and more hawkish central banks. Unfortunately this was not to be the case because headline CPI came in well ahead of expectations at 2.1% and Core CPI also rose to 1.8%. While some of the jump was due to clothing prices, the strength was broad-based enough to justify further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

'We would expect this number to lead to more short-term turbulence as markets continue to fret about a regime shift taking place.'

14:17

Dow and S&P futures plunge on inflation data

The Dow Jones is predicted to lose more than 200 points when markets open shortly.

Futures trading saw the markets plunge in pre-trading after inflation came in at a higher than expected rate for the US - adding to the prevailing belief that interest rates are set to rise soon.

The S&P is also expected to open down, losing 25.5 points in pre-trading.

14:13

Gas, housing, clothing, medical care and food pushed up US inflation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said: 'The seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index was broad-based, with increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, apparel, medical care, and food all contributing.

'The energy index rose 3.0 percent in January, with the increase in the gasoline index more than offsetting declines in other energy component indexes.

'The food index rose 0.2 percent with the indexes for food at home and food away from home both rising.'

14:11

US inflation rate HIGHER than expected - spooks markets

The much anticipated inflation rate update for the US has come in higher than expected and sent the FTSE 100 plunging, wiping out earlier gains for the index.

CPI was 0.5% in January, up on the 0.3% expected.

Annual CPI was 2.1% - higher than the 1.9% expected and the figure markets had anticipated.

The FTSE lost around 60 points straight after the news broke but has since recovered some lost ground.

The stock is down some 30% over the last year, and today has fallen more than 1% before pulling back.

Hunter said: 'While the integration of Baxalta is clearly giving Shire’s prospects a shot in the arm, ingrained concerns around generic competition and the net debt figure remain.

'Shire’s ability to pay down this debt is under scrutiny, whilst the general level of competition in some of its key areas is heightening.

'The company is also under increasing pressure to replace the products which will lapse into patent expiry over the coming years and the immediate outlook is guarded, all of which in total gives the company potentially hazardous headwinds.

'Meanwhile, from an investment perspective, the dividend yield of just 0.8% is paltry and certainly does not hold a candle to the likes of Glaxo (7.1%) and AstraZeneca (4.2%).

'Nonetheless, there are a number of elements to the numbers which should provide some solace. Shire has 15 programmes in late-stage development, product sales are strong – whether including the Baxalta contribution or not – and there are multiple near-term launches planned.

'In the meantime, metrics such as earnings growth and the operating margin are advancing apace, whilst strategically the company’s focus on and expertise in rare diseases could well lead to promising times ahead.'

It comes amid fears today's inflation report from the US could spark yet another sell off in markets.

'We are now officially in a ‘correction’: US equities have fallen over 10% from their peak in late January. An unusually strong period of returns has been brought to a close, markets have paused for breath, and we can start to analyse what it all means for the next few months. And to be clear, this is a return to normality rather than a departure from it,' he says.

'I continue to believe that recent market declines represent a buying opportunity. While bear markets can appear out of nowhere, continued strong macroeconomic data and solid fundamentals point to this being a setback that might mark the start of the ‘late cycle', but not the end of the cycle itself.

'Experience tells us that a ‘late cycle’ environment can last anything from a few months to a couple of years, so whilst we should expect continued volatility, now is not the time to capitulate - remaining (cautiously) risk on feels the right approach.'

11:51

'Bitcoin will make you rich!'

At least that's what you will be told by Lilia who runs a seminar on how to invest in the cryptocurrency in order to buy houses, boats and planes for you and your family.

Bitcoin today is actually more than 3% up over the last 24 hours and trading at $8,871.

11:37

Sky, Coca Cola and Old Mutual lead FTSE 100 higher

Shares in Sky are up 3.25% today following the announcement it had won rights to several Premier League contracts up for grabs.

Coca Cola's so called 'exceptional' year has pushed up share prices 3.31%.

Old Mutual, the global investment bank and insurance broker, has also seen its share price rise 3.23% after it revealed yet another acquisition of a financial adviser firm.

The FTSE 100 itself is at 7,214 and has held onto its gains made so far this week.

11:10

Coca Cola bit too fizzed up over its own results?

Coca Cola HBC, the leading bottler for the famous drinks brand announced a set of 'exceptional results' today - but analysts weren't as overawed by the reaction.

Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said: 'Management of bottling partner for The Coca Cola company, Coca Cola HBC, this morning described its full year results as ‘exceptional’ however, with the shares rising by just 3% at open, we’d suggest this is a little enthusiastic.'

He added: 'These results were driven by improving conditions across the majority of the group’s markets, except Russia and Nigeria, but also as a result of initiative such as forcing price increases, careful management of input costs and increased marketing efforts. Looking ahead, Coca Cola HBC’s outlook is also quite positive.'

10:12

US inflation is 'key' to investor sentiment

An investment director at a City wealth management firm says US inflation will be a key driver of investor sentiment this year.

Edward Park from Brooks Macdonald said: 'US CPI is the data point that markets are awaiting to help clarify if US wage data is a blip or whether it is indicative of a higher path of inflation. We believe that inflation will gradually increase over the course of the year with PCE inflation, the Federal Reserve’s preferred indicator, moving to the central bank’s target level.

'If however inflation begins surprising to the upside and starts to suggest that price increases will overshoot the bank’s target, then the outlook for equities and bonds in 2018 will shift materially.

'Throughout 2018 we expect the monthly US CPI release to be a key data point for investor sentiment.'

10:04

Galliford Try shares extend slump

Shares in Galliford Try slumped 20% at their lowest this morning, and remain more than 18% lower since markets opened.

The collapse of Carillion and the costs to Galliford are the key driver behind the slide, but Neil Wilson at ETX Capital says the project costs had over run already.

'AWPR has been a fiasco start to finish. At long last it ought to be completed this year but at signficant additional cost. Management stresses that it no longer undertakes ‘fixed-price, all risk major projects of this nature’ and has changed its tendering process,' he said.

'This is welcome and a positive outcome from Carillion’s collapse is that other firms are now going to be more much judicious in their approach to winning work.'

09:42

Sky on top in Premier League rights battle

The rights to show Premier League games from 2019-2022 have been sold for £4.46bn - with two live packages still to be sold.

Sky has won the rights to four packages, including its flagship Sunday afternoon slots and Saturday night games, with BT taking 32 Saturday lunchtime games.

Both providers are paying less than last time out.

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown says Sky looks like the big winner in the deal.

'There’s two packages still up for grabs, but so far Sky is the big winner from the Premier League auction. Securing more games at a lower cost is a major coup, and with BT seemingly content to play second fiddle on the Premier League, that rivalry now looks to have thawed.

'All this means Sky looks much healthier than when Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox first bid for the business. In early trading the shares touched £10.95, 20p ahead of the price Fox has agreed to pay. This tells us Murdoch might need to come back with an improved offer.'

The FTSE 100, German DAX and French CAC markets are all in the green this morning after opening higher.

The Stoxx 600 - which includes companies from across 17 European countries - is up 0.56% so far.

08:35

All eyes on the US inflation data

US inflation data is set to be published today, revealing just how well the economy is ticking along.

After the last set of economic figures sparked a global sell off on stock markets today's set of numbers will be high in people's minds if it adds fuel to the assumptions that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner rather than later.

08:32

Coca Cola hikes dividend

While Galliford shares sink - global drinks giant brand Coco Cola is cruising along with a 3% jump in its share price after reporting an 'exceptional year' in 2017.

The firm has increased its dividend pay out to shareholders by 23% on last year, up to €0.54 per share.

Net sales revenue was up 4.9% last year according to results posted today and it said it had made 'significant progress' towards its 2020 strategic objectives.

Construction firm shares sink after £150m plea to help cover Carillion fall out

Shares in housebuilder Galliford Try have sank nearly 17% after markets opened this morning after revealing it needed to raise £150m to cover the costs it has taken on as a result of the collapse of construction firm Carillion in January.

It is trading at 820p, down from 883p when markets opened.

The two firms were working together on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route - a new road to improve connections in North East Scotland.

Boss Peter Truscott said: 'Reflecting the additional financial obligations arising from this contract, we have today announced our plans for a capital raise of £150m.

'We have also brought forward our plans to increase dividend cover to 2.0x pre-exceptional earnings, with the result that we are today declaring an interim dividend of 28.0p.'

08:19

FTSE opens higher

The FTSE 100 is up this morning - posting a 0.67% rise first thing to stand 47 points up at 7,215.

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